New Bid to Allow Charters in KY

Nov 21, 2011

Kentucky Lawmaker Says It’s Time His State Got Charter Schools

ChoiceMedia.TV | November 21, 2011

The State of Kentucky is one of just nine states without a charter school law of any kind.But one Kentucky lawmaker wants to change that.This week, Rep. Brad Montell pre-filed a bill for next year’s session that would, if passed and signed into law, allow charter schools to operate for the first time in his state’s history.

“We can no longer stand by and watch as other states allow their children to grow and prosper in their education through the option of charter schools,” said Rep. Montell in a released statement. “Kentucky is one of only nine states that don’t allow public charter schools. We must provide our children with all avenues of learning, and public charter schools offer families a wider variety of options to give every child an equal chance at the best education possible.”

Previous attempts to allow charters in Kentucky have not gone very far, and this latest move is already facing determined resistance. Kentucky Education Association president Sharron Oxendine told WKYT-TV that her union will oppose the bill:

We feel we need to fully fund public schools, and we haven’t gotten conclusive evidence that charter schools would improve education in Kentucky. Why can’t we find what’s good in charter schools and apply it to every public school?

The bill’s author, however, remains undeterred. In a Friday interview with ChoiceMedia.TV, Rep. Montell said that charter school advocates in Kentucky are finding more support than in years past. His biggest concern was that anti-charter forces might “see the handwriting on the wall” and preempt his bill with a watered-down version of their own.